Caesarean Babies More At Risk Of Developing Asthma

Share

Babies born by Caesarean section are more prone to developing asthma than children delivered naturally, claim Dutch researchers.

Advertisement

According to researchers, exposure to bacteria in the vagina during birth may play a key role in priming the immune system, providing a defence against the development of allergies.

Advertisement

In case of Caesarean kids, exposure to bacteria happens later and research has shown they have different intestinal flora - gut bacteria - suggesting the maturation of their immune systems is delayed, reports the Independent.

In the study of almost 3,000 children, birth by Caesarean was associated with an 80 percent increased risk of asthma by age eight compared with vaginal birth.

Among the one in 10 children with two allergic parents, the incidence of asthma was three times higher among those born by Caesarean.

These children have a strong inherited predisposition to the disease.

Caroline Roduit of the National Institute for Public Health in Bilthoven, the Netherlands, who led the study published in Thorax, said: "The increased rate of Caesarean section is partly due to maternal demand without medical reasons.

In this situation the mother should be informed of the risk of asthma for her child, especially when the parents have a history of allergy or asthma."

Your comments are automatically posted once they are submitted. All comments are however constantly reviewed for spam and irrelevant material (such as product or personal advertisements, email addresses, telephone numbers and website address). Such insertions do not conform to our policy and 'Terms of Use' and are either deleted or edited and republished.Please keep your comments brief and relevant.This section may also have questions seeking help. If you have the information you are welcome to respond, but please ensure that the information so provided is genuine and not misleading.

Disclaimer - All information and content on this site are for information and educational purposes only. The information should not be used for either diagnosis or treatment or both for any health related problem or disease. Always seek the advice of a qualified physician for medical diagnosis and treatment.Full Disclaimer